COMMERCE SECRETARY
MINETA OPENS DOORS TO A NEW WORLD-CLASS FEDERAL MARINE RESEARCH
FACILITY
IN SANTA CRUZNew National Science Center
for Marine Protected Areas Also Included

SANTA CRUZ, Calif.  U.S.
Secretary of Commerce Norman Y. Mineta today demonstrated
the administration's continued commitment to restoration and
preservation of the nation's irreplaceable ocean resources by
unveiling a state-of-the art scientific research facility in
central California.

"Our oceans are indispensable lifelines
from both environmental and economic perspectives and require
first-class research to ensure their health," Secretary
Mineta said of the new marine fisheries research laboratory in
Santa Cruz. "This laboratory will provide researchers with
the critical tools they need to help shape the future of our
oceans."

"One of my top priorities is protecting
the oceans and learning all that we can about them. With this
stewardship comes important collaborations such as this one that
will open doors to new partnerships to help us protect and restore
our oceans for generations to come," added Secretary Mineta,
the nation's chief advocate for the oceans.

The new facility, located next to UCSC's
Long Marine Laboratory, joins a growing research and academic
community at this site and in the Monterey Bay region. The location
is ideal for developing cooperative, collaborative relationships
in education and research. There are now 21 marine science institutions
or agency programs based in the Monterey Bay region, employing
nearly 1,850 scientists and support staff and with a collective
annual budget of nearly $150 million. The $19.4 million laboratory
replaces NOAA's obsolete Tiburon lab facilities
in the San Francisco Bay area. Other facilities on the site,
in addition to Long Marine Lab, include a Marine Wildlife Veterinary
Care and Research Center (California
Department of Fish and Game) and the Seymour Marine Discovery
Center, a public education center and university teaching laboratory.
UCSC's Center for Ocean Health and a Seabird/Raptor Facility
are currently under construction.

"I am delighted to welcome our new
neighbor and our newest partner in marine reseach," said
Dr. M.R.C. Greenwood, UCSC
chancellor. "The new NOAA
Fisheries facility, with its distinguished scientists, is
a major addition to the unique consortium of leading ocean sciences
organizations in the Monterey Bay area."

The mission of the laboratory is to conduct
research and produce scientific information and data to support
conservation and management of marine fisheries and essential
fish habitat. Laboratory scientists focus on a wide variety of
field and laboratory studies in the Pacific Ocean off central
and northern California and in coastal salmon streams. The environmental
research will focus on the near shore waters along the central
California coast and San Francisco Bay. It will support the management
of these new stocks by providing the scientific basis for future
management decisions. The new laboratory, which overlooks the
nation's largest National
Marine Sanctuary, includes the latest in modern technology
including a seawater system that will be used to better study
these critical species.

Today, the secretary announced an additional
role for the laboratory with nation-wide responsibilities.

"In addition to state-of-the-art fisheries
research, the lab will be home to the new National Science Center
for Marine Protected Areas.
Born out of President Clinton's executive order earlier this
spring to enhance existing and newly established MPA's for protection
and conservation for our coastal and marine resources, this center
will be the focal point of our efforts," Secretary Mineta
said.

This national MPA initiative calls for
the creation of a comprehensive system of marine protected areas
designed to conserve and study representative habitats of all
our nation's marine ecosystems.

"There isn't a better place to locate
the MPA Science Center than Santa Cruz. We have the best scientists;
we have the most up-to-date equipment and a brand new laboratory;
we have the grandest doorway to the oceans of anywhere on the
planet. This is where it all happens," added Congressman
Sam Farr, who has helped make this new a lab reality.